


Hang On and Be Strong

by Kayim



Category: Star Wars - All Media Types
Genre: Friendship, Gen, Post-Rebels, Pre-A New Hope
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-04-02
Updated: 2018-04-02
Packaged: 2019-04-17 07:19:16
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,592
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14183784
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Kayim/pseuds/Kayim
Summary: General Hera Syndulla is a key part of the Rebel Alliance. And a key confidante of Leia Organa.





	Hang On and Be Strong

They move on.

Zeb and Kallus are together, saving as many people as they can from the Empire. Ahsoka and Sabine are searching for Ezra, wherever he might be.

And Hera is making sure there is a home for them all to return to.

“General Syndulla. You’re needed in the war room.”

The young Sullustan who comes to collect her is waiting patiently next to her Y-wing. His body language indicates it’s an important, but not time-critical, request. She nods her acknowledgement and finishes the shutdown process. Chopper reassures her that the fighter is still fully operational, even if it does require a new coat of paint to cover up some of the blaster scorch marks, and she smiles to herself. Her whole team made it back with no injuries – other than Hobbie’s sprained ankle when he jumped out of his cockpit after landing – and all of the fighters are still in working condition. Between those facts and the successful destruction of the Imperial weapons cache they’d gone after, she was counting this mission as a complete win.

When the final light fades from the cockpit, she pushes herself out, climbing down the steps. She’s usually less demure in her actions, but she needs to demonstrate to her team – Hobbie especially – what the correct way is to exit the vehicle. When she remembers the way Kanan and Ezra used to just leap out, landing softly as lothcats, she supposes she should be grateful that none of her pilots are Jedi. She manages a brief smile before the familiar spike of pain courses through again.

“Senator Organa wishes to speak with you,” her messenger tells her as they head inside. She wishes she could remember his name, but she’s spoken to him every day for a week, and to suddenly ask him now would make her feel ridiculous. She’ll figure it out eventually.

“Thank you.”

Most of the pilots she knows have long legs and longer strides, so she’s used to having to walk fast to keep up with them. The messenger isn’t a pilot though, so she can walk at a more serene pace – another indication that Leia’s request isn’t urgent – and lets herself enjoy the feeling of regular gravity. It sometimes feels like she spends more time in flight than she does on the ground. It’s felt that way for a long time now.

“Did the senator say what she needed?” She hopes that whatever the next mission Leia has for her will be planetside. Even if it’s not this planet. She loves to fly, but she misses being around other people. Her family may be scattered across the galaxy, but she still has friends she’d like to see.

The Sullustan shakes his head. “She received a transmission, General. That’s all I know.” He looks disappointed in himself for not being able to answer her question, and she suspects he prides himself on knowing what’s going on anywhere on base. It’s not his fault though; Leia has always liked to keep things close to her chest.

The base is quiet, and a quick glance at her chrono tells Hera that it’s late enough that most of the base personnel will be sleeping. When she thinks back, she recalls that the sky was darker than she’d expected it to be, a soft purple shade that reminded her of Sabine’s preferred hair colour. She chides herself for not realising what the time was, and then remembers that whatever time it is, Leia is still expecting her.

They reach the war room without speaking. It’s a relatively small room, with a holotable that takes up most of the space. There are a few chairs around the edge of the room, but usually the occupants prefer to stand. It’s kept cool enough so Admiral Ackbar is comfortable, but not too cold for the humans. The room isn’t designed to be occupied for a protracted length of time.

“Hera. How was the mission?”

They’ve known each other long enough to be ‘Hera’ and ‘Leia’ when they’re alone, but it’s a sign of the senator’s exhaustion that she lapses into the informal salutation in front of the Sullustan. The dark shadows under her eyes are a second clue, and Hera wonders how long it’s been since Leia slept.

Hera nods at the Sullustan, who backs out of the room in silence, closing the door behind him. She waits until she hears the lock click, before walking over towards her friend and embracing her. 

“You look exhausted,” she says, as she hugs her friend tightly. Leia holds on a fraction tighter than she usually does, and Hera starts to worry. It takes a lot get under Leia’s skin, but something has clearly shaken her.

Leia laughs softly as she pulls away to look at Hera. “I can always count on you to make me feel good about my appearance.”

“If you wanted someone to tell you how pretty you look, I’m sure there are a dozen x-wing jockeys out there who would jump at the chance.”

They’ve both heard about the betting pool that circulates around the base at least once a month, with everyone trying to guess which pilot will be the one to finally catch the princess’s eye. Hera’s fairly sure that Leia herself has won a few credits, thanks to a staged ‘date night’ with Wedge Antilles. 

She sighs. “I only wish I had time for frivolities. It just feels like everything’s coming together, and it’s almost time for…”

Her voice trails off.

“Time for what?”

“I wish I knew.”

Hera steps back and looks closely at Leia. There’s something more than exhaustion leaving shadows on her face. It reminds her of the look Kanan used to have when he felt something through the Force. 

She makes a decision to trust whatever is causing the feeling. If it’s serious enough that it the unshakeable Senator Organa is worried, then it’s serious enough to start planning for. 

“In that case we need to prepare. We need to increase daily patrols, and get the intelligence teams concentrating on intercepting Imperial chatter. I’ll get Chopper to liaise with the supply droids and make sure we have secondary supply routes in and out of the system, and we should probably…”

“…get the tech teams working overtime to repair as many of the damaged fighters as possible,” Leia finishes for her.

Hera blushes. “I’m sorry, this is your base.”

“It is, but I can’t run it single-handedly. There’s a reason I keep you around, you know. And it’s not just to tell me when I look like bantha dung.”

The princess could never look anything less than regal, but Hera doesn’t tell her this. Instead, she smiles and acknowledges the credit bestowed on her, even if she doesn’t believe she deserves it. She’s only a pilot, even if she has been given the title of ‘General’, and she still doesn’t understand how she came to be here, in the middle of the Rebel Alliance. 

“I had a message from my father,” Leia says, breaking the silence that was threatening to become awkward. “He wants me to take the _Tantive IV_ and pick up a package.”

There’s more to that statement. Whatever the package is, it’s important enough to warrant both a senator of Leia’s standing _and_ a fully-armed Corellian corvette.

“Do you know what the package is?”

Leia shakes her head. “It was an unsecured line. The message came through coded in a way only a member of our family would understand.”

“Let me bring _Ghost_ and come with you.” She is already running through a list of potential crew from the base, when Leia refuses the offer.

“I need you here,” she says, reaching out her hand. Hera takes it, squeezing gently. They both understand what neither of them are saying; it’s possible that Leia won’t make it back in one piece. Whatever Bail needs her to collect is dangerous enough that it has Leia scared. “If anything goes wrong –“ she starts, but Hera interrupts. 

“We all know what to do here.” She hopes she sounds reassuring, but she can feel her own voice quiver. She’s lost too many friends this far, and she’s not willing to lose another one. But if she can help Leia stay confident, they’ll have a better chance of seeing each other again. “You’ve taught us all well.”

Leia breathes a sigh of relief. “Thank you.”

There are a dozen things Hera wants to say next, but there isn’t time to reminisce, or to get too emotional. Leia needs her to be a general now, and to know that she’ll continue to fulfil that role.

“You should take the droids,” she tells her. “And I’ll contact Commander Antilles myself and discuss the most effective hyperspace route for you to take.”

She doesn’t add that she’ll ask Artoo to provide updates to Chopper along their course. Or that she’ll warn the Commander that there’s more to this mission than meets the eye. Leia doesn’t need to know these things. She just needs to know that Hera has it under control.

Leia doesn’t thank her again, or ask her any more questions. She simply squeezes Hera’s hand one more time before turning away. Hera pretends that she doesn’t see the tears forming in her friend’s eyes.

“Leia?” she calls out before the door opens. Leia turns to look at her, instinctively pulling her shoulders back and lifting her head up. She looks every inch the royal princess that she is. “May the Force be with you.”


End file.
